A Promise of Something

After a great run with one dear friend this morning I met another this afternoon to indulge in a trip down memory lane.

She now lives a 20 minutes drive away from me, in the town where I grew up & her house happens to be 2 streets away from the street on which I was raised.

We took a walk up ‘the Beacon’ & I amused my friend with stories of my activities as a youth in these surroundings.

It was so lovely to catch up in a non- digital manner & we had plenty of material to cover.

My friend was keen to hear all about what she deemed to be “exciting new developments” in my life & I updated her tentatively & cautiously, so not to ‘jinx’ these developments in line with my propensity for superstition.

Another thing which was a significant focus for our catch up was my friend’s worry & concern for live arts. This is her line of work & the short to medium term effects of the pandemic are likely to have a rather significant & none-too-gentle impact on the lives of many associated with this industry.

The threat that the pandemic is posing for the arts world, at large is devastatingly sad & in saying this, I don’t mean to undermine the deep melancholy that the death of circa 40,000 people has cast upon our nation. (I aim to put my thoughts surrounding this into words when they feel a little more ordered).

My friend said that she loves her job in the theatre because she loves people and Theatre is about people. This really struck a chord with me & I can’t help but join her in feeling really very sad & anxious about the near future of the theatre in Keswick.

What was evident however, was that amidst the worry & the concern was a deep-rooted sense of hope. My friend could see where the hope lies- in work, she’s spent the last few weeks strategising, in order to create plans “going forward” but it helps that she’s an eternal optimist & her strength & determination is certainly contagious.

To reiterate what she said; Theatre is about people & with this in mind, I’m thinking, that people will ‘come good’ & will stand up for the cause.

With true grit, the arts world will recover from this because I feel we can all recognise how important art (in its varying forms) is to all our lives & whilst it’s debatable whether a well-respected prime minister ever really did say: “then what are we fighting for?”, I’d like to think that we could apply this maxim as we strive to save the institution which so richly deserves to remain a significant aspect of our culture.